


Saving Humanity One Day At a Time

by littleghosthunter



Category: Z Nation (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-08
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 23:31:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6492076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleghosthunter/pseuds/littleghosthunter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I realize that there are probably a few, if not a lot of spelling and grammar errors. In both the first chapter and this one, and there will be in more to come. All I have to say is I am human and I make mistakes, don't nag me about them please. I am trying, and I have friends reading through them checking them through for errors as well.</p><p>The Z's name is pronounced ah-vahn-chee<br/>~littleghosthunter</p></blockquote>





	1. The Meeting

After months of running for my life, not only from the undead but also from my own family, I finally found a place that feels safe, a place that I have lived in for almost two months now. Within those two months I have learned everything about this town: from the place to get more supplies when needed, to the place to fuel up when you’re low. Most supplies in the small community had been untouched, and to me it seemed like everyone just suddenly packed up and got out of dodge. Since then it seemed like people avoided the town like the plague. Which I did find to be a little bit off, but it did not worry me.  
Most days I stay indoors entertaining myself with the knick-knacks I find on my days out. Sometimes I will sit down and color until it's night, as I tend to not have anything better to do. Some days I sit out on the roof of the building, I have taken shelter in, watching as Z’s come and go. The existence of Z’s in this town is little to none. That is only because there really isn’t anything here for the Z’s, they all moved on eventually looking for something or someone to be its next meal. Only a few remained in the town, and those were the Z’s that were here before I arrived, probably here since day one of the apocalypse.  
The one Z resides in a cell in the Jailhouse, he doesn’t have legs so he lay in a corner in the back of the cell moaning and groaning. Since there really was not anything for food he was weak and could barely move. It was after I learned that fact that I did not find him to be a threat. I named him Allen, mainly because he just looked like an Allen. Normally I would mercy all Z’s I come across but I had no way to get into the cell and I didn’t want to waste a bullet on him, as he wasn’t a threat. Often times I find myself there talking to him, even though he can’t talk back and he is undead, it is still nice to have somon- Er, something to talk to.  
Another place where two of the Z’s reside is the bar. One of them I am guessing, is a bartender as he is stood behind the bar a empty bottle of whiskey permanently residing in his hand. The other Z was probably a costumer at one point in time. Now him I did mercy as I didn’t want to take any chances with him. I call the pair Charles and Jeremy, Charles being the bartender and Jeremy being the costumer I gave mercy to.  
I know it might seem insane saying all this that I name the Z’s and talk to them as if they are living people. What am I supposed to do though? I haven’t seen a living being in months and in my mind talking to myself seemed just a bit more insane. I mean it's not like I am stupid enough to believe they are alive and harmless, there is no way I would get closer than need be, the only thing I do is sit and talk. Normally about nothing or about everything, all I know is, I need someone to talk to and they just so happened to be there.  
I know that when it is finally time for me to leave I would mercy them, if I had time. I just couldn’t find it in me to do it, not yet.

Sighing I strolled down the empty streets kicking any rock in my path. The town was still, giving off an eerie vibe. Most people would be uneasy in this situation, but not me. I knew there was nothing to worry about and if there were to be a horde or some other threat passing through, I knew the town well enough that I could easily escape.  
Grabbing a strand of my hair I twirled it around my finger as I stared off into the distance. For a moment I had thought I heard the low hum of an engine in the distance, which to me was insane. I just shook my head at the thought. Since I had been here there had only been one sighting of living beings. A group of four that were on the run from a group of Zombies that numbered at least 10. They didn’t stand a chance without ammo and I was to slow in getting to them in time. The most I could offer them was mercy, which I gave them without a second thought after meeting the guy’s desperate gaze. After the Z’s left I gave them a burial, something that was uncommon in our world these days.  
Slowly I made my way up the steps of the Jailhouse and pushed my way into the crumbling stone building. Dragging my feet on the marble floor I trudged through the building to where the cells were located. I lowered myself in the chair I had positioned across from the cell Allen resided in.  
“Hi Allen,” I spoke in a hushed tone waking the creature that had been acting dead. The Z always did that, and it made me wonder. It was like he could think, and it was like he hoped someone would fall for his act and walk right into a trap. Of course that was far fetched. Z’s couldn’t think, the only thing they knew was the everlasting hunger for human flesh. Allen groaned catching my attention; I looked up in time to see him lift one of his rotted arms out towards me snapping his jaws open and closed.  
I shifted around on the chair, pulling my knees up to my chest before resting my chin on my knees. “Sometimes I think I am the last living being in the states,” I hummed staring down at the floor. “There is nothing on the radio anymore and I haven’t seen another human since that family… I know I am not the last one, I can’t be. Though sometimes I hope it’s true, as that means I wouldn’t have to worry about my past hunting me down anymore. At the same time I hope it isn’t true, as I would go insane being the last living being. I would be so lonely and eventually I would just give up…” when I looked up at Allen I was overtaken by shock. He was staring at me almost as if he were concentrating on what I was saying.  
Shaking my head rapidly I placed my feet back on the floor all while brushing my fingers through my hair.  
“Dear god, I am going insane. I am so seeing things,” I stood up and rubbed my hands on my jeans to dry them. Then I rubbed my face and walked up to the bars of the cell staring hard at the Z. I squinted my eyes, “Why? How? I’m hallucination. It is impossible… Isn’t it?” That moment was when I decided I needed some rest. I glanced over at Allen for a second before making my way through the building to the front doors.  
Placing my hand on the handle I froze staring out the glass door. I spotted something that had not been there before; a truck was parked across the street from the Jailhouse. From what I could see from where I stood there was no one inside, which meant that whoever owned the vehicle was walking the streets, and looting buildings.  
My heart raced as I peered at the truck. ‘Please tell me it is not them, please tell me that they haven’t found me,’ I thought before tugging the door open. It didn’t look like one of their vehicles but I knew better than to assume.  
Opening the second door I poked my head out peering around for any sign of people. As soon as I was sure that there was no one around I pushed out of the building and hightailed it across the street. Before I walked any closer to the truck I removed my handgun from my holster, I pointed the barrel of the gun in front of me at the car door.  
“One… Two… Three…” I whispered before throwing the truck door open and aiming my gun at the now open door. When nothing jumped out at me I placed my gun back into the holster. Leaning into the truck I searched for something that could maybe tell me as to whom I was going to have to deal with, and how many of them there were. The truck offered me nothing of the sorts. Sighing deeply I shut the door and leaned up against the truck.  
“Looks like I get my wish,” I muttered as I thought back to what I had said to Allen. This was definitely a sign I was not the last human in the states. Chewing on my bottom lip I shoved my hands into my pockets, wondering where the person and/or people had wandered.  
My heart skipped a beat, ‘what if they are in the bar and they kill Charles What if they find my shelter and rob me?’ At that though I raced down the streets with one destination in mind. I burst into the bar to find Charles still behind the bar, where I had left him yesterday, alive. Or well the undead version of alive. If anyone was going to mercy him it was going to be me.  
“Okay they are not here. That either means they are in one of the many buildings searching for supplies or they have stumbled upon my shelter, my home.” Glancing up towards the ceiling I chewed on my bottom lip. ‘I really hope they aren’t in my home. I really don’t want to have to kill the first live people I have come in contact with in months just because they are trying to steal from me. As long as they are cooperative everything should be fine.’  
I turned around to walk out of the bar before I stopped momentarily. I glanced over my shoulder in the direction of the bar considering grabbing a drink before going to face these strangers. I decided against doing so, if I was going to face people I wanted to be 100 percent sober.  
Making my way out the door I glanced up towards the sky. Taking note that it was getting dark. I knew I needed to get home, as I didn’t know the town well enough to navigate in the dark. I rushed down the street in the direction of the building I had set up my shelter in.  
As the building came into view I stuck to the shadows. I kept searching for signs of movement inside the windows. Squinting my eyes slightly as to get a better view, the low flicker of light behind the boarded up windows caught my attention.  
“Damn,” I spoke, my voice coming out a bit louder than I had intended. Lucky for me no one or any thing was around to hear. As I crept through the shadows I stopped by the neighboring building. Walking into the alley I climbed up the ladder on the side of the building up onto the roof. Making my way to the other side of the roof I peered down at the gap between the two buildings. Staring at the broken wall of both roofs I backed up a bit. I knew one day smashing the bricks to pieces would come in handy. Once I thought I was far enough back I sprinted forward, praying I made the jump. I squeezed my eyes shut only opening them the moment my feet came in contact with the rocky roof of my shelter. I crept across the roof, in a slightly crouched position, over to where the door leading inside the building at.  
Placing my hand on the doorknob I heaved it open as quietly as possible before stepping inside. I slowly pulled the door shut behind me, listening for the click, which told me that it was latched.  
Every step I took was cautious and silent; I was hoping that the people wouldn’t notice the creaking of the old stairs. Clearly they didn’t or if they did they weren’t too concerned about it. Which to me was foolish, but in their defense the building was quite old and often made a lot of strange noises. So in truth I couldn’t call them ignorant or just plain dumb.  
Wrapping my fingers around the banister I crouched down on the stairs near the room they were currently in. The door was only open a crack so I couldn’t see a whole lot. I couldn’t hear anything either, which told me they were asleep or they were whispering. Slipping down the remaining steps I crept over to the door on my tiptoes, pressing myself against the wall next to the doors. I listened for any movement or sound that would alert me to all the intruders where abouts.  
After about ten minutes of nothing I came to the conclusion that they were asleep. Pressing my palm on the door I slowly shoved it open enough that I could slip in. I winced at the loud moan the door made as I did make my way into the room.  
The only source of lighting in the room was a few lit candles that I had scattered around the room. I could count six heads from where I stood in the doorway. At first a sense of dread washed through me, ‘how was I supposed to fight off six people? Any of them could get the jump on me.’ That was when I remembered the size of the room. There was no way for them to get the jump on me. I tiptoed over to where a boy laid, his black hair spiked out from under the blanket he was wrapped up in. Removing my gun from the holster I pressed the barrel against the back of his head. This seemed to startle him from his sleep and I noticed his body jolt under the blanket. At first he acted like he was going to defend himself, which was when I cocked the gun erasing all thoughts of fighting back from his mind. I noticed his body go rigid as I did so.  
“Get up, slowly,” I hissed in a hushed tone. He did exactly as I ordered; slowly he shimmied out of his blanket before rising to his feet. I faltered, slightly intimidated by his height. I kept the barrel of the gun aimed at him and spared the lifeless forms in the room a glance. “Wake them up. Now,” I demanded pressing the barrel of the gun into his back.  
“Doc… Doc, get up,” the boy rasped kicking his leg out in the direction of an older looking man.  
“What’s up kid?” the man questioned as he sat up groggily wiping his eyes. The man – Doc – looked up at the boy who stood in front of me; at first he didn’t seem to notice me. When he did his eyes widened slightly, his gaze switching between the raven-haired boy and I.  
He made a move to get up which sent a sense of panic through me, I was afraid he was going to go for one of his weapons. Reaching around behind me I lifted my tank top up and quickly removed my other gun from the waistband of my jeans, not wasting a minute I cocked it and aimed at his head. “Don’t move,” I shouted startling him and probably waking the others who were still asleep.  
The man the boy called Doc froze and raised his hands up in surrender. “Okay. I’m sorry, just calm down okay?” he spoke his voice gentle and soothing.  
“What is going on?” a woman’s voice boomed through the room, my gaze snapped over in her direction along with my gun that wasn’t pressed into the boy's back. She stopped mid advance and raised her hands slightly.  
“Weapons on the floor and up against the wall, all of you!” I barked as I shoved the boy with raven hair in the direction of the other intruders. At first he stumbled which caused my heart to skip a beat as my intentions were not to hurt him, but he was quick to catch his balance. He turned around gazing at me; his eyes scanned every inch of me that they could, moments after his face-flushed red. He never stopped walking back towards his friends though. After that though, no one moved which made me a bit anxious, “Now!”  
They all glanced over to the black woman and she was quick to nod her head. Slowly she lowered herself into a crouching position, and then she placed her weapons on the floor in front of her. Once she stood she kicked her gun away from her already knowing I was going to demand that of them. Moments after the other began to do the same thing, some were faster than others about getting it done of course. Especially the raven-haired boy, he almost seemed reluctant but did so anyways. One by one they lined up in front of the wall, their hands in the air and their faces void of all emotion. I positioned myself so I was stood between them and their weapons.  
Glancing at the woman who I presumed to be in charge I spoke, “I assume you are in charge?” When she nodded her head as an answer I bit down on my bottom lip. “Why are you here?” I questioned scanning everyone in the group, memorizing every feature I could.  
“We are just passing through. Our truck, it ran out of gas and we are low on supplies,” she paused, “we needed rest… Look we didn’t know anyone still liv-“  
“Did you take anything?” I interrupted her my gaze falling back on her.  
“Only a little food and water,” was all she said, probably figuring trying to elaborate wasn’t going to work if I didn’t give her the chance to do so.  
“Were you planning on robbing me?”  
“No, we jus-“  
“Enough! This is just annoying,” a man who had bluish skin spoke stepping away from the group.  
Without hesitation I turned on him, “don’t move and don’t speak unless I ask you to.” He shut up and froze raising a brow in my direction.  
“I like you, I like her. You have spunk kid,” he chuckled speaking to both the people he was with and me.  
“Shut up,” I scowled before looking back to the woman in charge, giving her a warning look.  
“Murphy, for once just be quiet and listen. Before you get us all killed,” she snapped not taking her gaze off me. He didn’t want to listen I could see it in his eyes, but he soon fell back into line with the others. A bit stubbornly I might add.  
“Talk,” I demanded before sighing at her confused look, “explain.” I swept my arm out gesturing to the room before aiming the gun in their direction again.  
A look of realization crossed her face, “when we found this place we could tell someone lived here, and we didn’t want to just up and take someone else’s stuff, so we waited. When no one showed up we assumed whoever lived here was dead.”  
“Well, I’m not dead,” I spoke not giving her a chance to continue.  
“Please, we just need a place to rest for the night. We’ll be gone by morning. I swear it,” as she spoke I pondered what harm it would do in letting them stay the night.  
“For tonight. Then you are gone,” I decided lowering my guns; I placed them where they belonged in the holster and in the waistband of my jeans. Glancing up at the group they all visibly relaxed a bit.  
“Thank you,” she spoke offering me a small grateful smile.  
“Yeah… You said you are low on gas?” I asked tilting my head to the side slightly.  
“Yes, we are low on gas,” a low voice caught my attention, my gaze landed on a man with tan skin and light scruff.  
“I know a place you can get as much gas as you need and a couple places where you can stock up on supplies as well,” I bite my bottom lip a moment, “I can take you to them tomorrow morning.”  
Everyone in the group pondered my offer, everyone accept the man with a light scruff. “No, no way,” he said. I could tell he was wary about me and probably thought that I would lead them into a death trap.  
“Why not? With her help we could get back on mission that much faster,” a soft voice spoke. I already knew that it was the girl with scarlet hair that fell to about her shoulders; I couldn’t fight the small smile that crept up on me. She didn’t know me but she spoke in my defense as if she trusted me.  
He didn’t say anything after she spoke, instead choose to walk over to the windows and peer out through the boards. I looked over to the girl with scarlet hair as she walked over to me.  
“My name is Addy,” she spoke in a orotund voice holding her hand out towards me.  
“Sondra,” I replied placing my hand in hers. She closed her hand around mine and shook them. She offered me a warm smile that I returned with a small smile.  
“Thank you, for not kicking us out onto the streets,” her voice was light and filled with a bit of humor.  
“I had no reason to, you aren’t threatening me and you aren’t stealing from me. Besides, what kind of person would I be if I kicked the first living beings I’ve seen in almost two months, out on the streets to die?” as I spoke my gaze fell to the floor and I bit down on my bottom lip.  
“Two months?” she seemed shocked by my reply, as if it wasn’t expected.  
“Yeah, I’ve been here for the past two months and the only thing to pass through here were a few groups of Z’s every once and awhile,” when I spoke I couldn’t help but think back to the day when those people were killed right in front of me, torn to shreds repeatedly.  
The sound of hushed whispers brought me out of my mind and back into reality. I turned my head in the direction the voices originated from slightly, hoping maybe I could catch what they were saying. They were whispering to soft for me to hear anything though.  
“Oh, you know what? No one else has introduced themselves. Over by the window is Roberta and Javier; they prefer to be called by their last names though, Warren and Vasquez. The lazy one over there is Murphy-“ Addy was abruptly interrupted by the man with blue skin before she could continue.  
“I am not lazy, I am just relaxing,” he said something after that but it was just a low grumble. Addy rolled her eyes before clearing her throat.  
“Anyways, the two over there is 10k and Steven or better know as D-“  
This time I was the one to interrupt her, “Doc…” after I spoke she gave me a strange look, which was when I remembered she wasn’t awake at the time. “Um, he - Er 10k said it when I had my gun on him,” after I explained it registered in her mind and she just nodded her head.  
“That makes sense,” she yawned, “I think I am going to lay back down now.” As she turned to walk back toward the makeshift bed I grabbed her arm. Jumping back I let go of her arm almost as fast as I had grabbed her arm. I looked over to where the sound of a gun being cocked originated from and was greeted by the barrel of a gun.  
My eyes widened and I took a small step back. “Hey, Vasquez lower your weapon,” Warren spoke, but Vasquez went on as if he hadn’t hear her.  
Out of the corner of my eye I seen Addy move to get between the two of us but she stop when I shook my head, telling her not to. It was sweet she had that much confidence in me, a complete stranger, which I’m not saying that the trust is misplaced because it isn’t. “Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, especially with what just happened… I promise you that I do not plan to harm you, any of you,” I pause, “to be fair, you guys intruded into my home, I didn’t plan to hurt you unless you left me no choice.” My eyes locked with his searching for something but his eyes were blank; I waited for him to say something or lower his weapon, for an emotion to flash through his eyes.  
Slowly, reluctantly, he lowered his gun and I followed his motion slowly lowering my hands. When I felt he wasn’t going to point his weapon at me again I relaxed. “I was going to say that four of the rooms on this floor are clean. If you want four of you can take one of the rooms instead of sleeping on the floor,” I sent a fleeting glance in Vasquez’s general location before turning to Addy.  
“We tried getting into the rooms they are either jammed or locked or something,” as she spoke she furrowed her brows together and tilted her head to the side slightly.  
“There is a trick to getting in them, as they are jammed but not from the inside,” turning I walked towards the door, “come on, I’ll show you… oh and there is running water. Which means if you all want to clean up you can.”  
Everyone in the room perked up at the mention of running water. “Alright, Addy and I will take two of those rooms, Vasquez and Murphy the other two,” Warren gazed at the group to make sure the sleeping arrangements were fine with everyone. They all nodded their heads not a word of protest leaving their lips.  
“I have a blow up mattress that one you of two can stick between the two couches to sleep on… The forest green couch is mine,” opening the door I turned glancing at the two who would be sharing my sleeping area with me, “the bathroom is through that door, there are fresh towels. Take your time as there is plenty of water to go around.” With that said I turned and led the four down the hall towards the rooms I had cleared out.  
I turned towards the first room placing my hand on the doorknob I jiggled it while turning the handle. I leaned my whole body on the door letting it support my weight. Biting down on my bottom lip I tilted my head back reaching my hand up I pressed it against the corner opposite to the hinges. The door shifted, before flying open. I quickly caught myself before I tumbled to the ground listening to the clanking of the piece of wood hitting the ground. The screw that had held it in place between the door and the frame bent around the piece of wood.  
“How did you manage that?” Warren questioned looking down at the wood then at the door frame. Reaching down I picked up the wood running my finger along the screw that wrapped around it, the sharp end sticking out enough to the point that it could be used as a weapon.  
“To be truthful, I can’t really explain it. It was something I taught myself, something that I could do from either the inside or the outside that way when the door fell open and the screw got contorted there would be enough of it sticking out that it could be used as a weapon. Also so it would keep unwanted visitors out... It only works once before the frame and the door gets ruined and you can’t do it again.” I muttered rubbing my hand along the tear in the frame.  
“How are we supposed to be sure that no one can get in and kill us while we are sleeping?” Vasquez questioned, I could tell he was searching for a reason to make the group not trust me, which made me sigh.  
“I replaced the screws here,” I tapped the strike plate and the face plate, “with longer more durable screws. Which means if you lock the door there, and the master lock then you should be fine, as it will take longer to break down the door, especially because the door is pure wood all the way through. You’ll know if someone is trying to get into your room and you will be prepared for them before the have the chance to get in.”  
“Where did you learn that?” Vasquez pushed.  
“My dad. He was an officer and every time we moved that was the first thing he checked on every door in the house,” was my reply. I looked over my shoulder Vasquez who actually looked impressed, only for a second that is.  
“Which other rooms are cleared?” Addy asked joining the conversation.  
“The next three doors,” I pointed down the hall to the next three doors that were evenly spaced. She nodded her head in thanks and grabbed both Murphy and Vasquez leading them down the hall. I watched as Vasquez worked his way down the hall opening each room just like I had.  
I turned to Warren and stepped out of the doorway, “all yours.”  
“Thank you,” she brushed past me into the room and I turned to walk back down the hall, stopping at the feeling of a hand gently resting on my shoulder. “Don’t let Vasquez scare you, he is just a bit paranoid about people he doesn’t trust.”  
I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, “he doesn’t scare me, and I’ve dealt with plenty of people like him.”  
She nodded her head resting her hands on her hips glancing down at the floor as a silence settled between us. I shifted awkwardly not sure if I should just walk away or if she was going to say something else. “Well, I suppose you are probably tired. I know I am, but first I am in need of a nice shower,” she hummed a smile spreading across her face.  
“Alright, night.” I glanced back at her offering her one last smile before turning and heading back down the hall. She whispered a goodnight in reply, her voice sounding almost brittle as she did. After that I heard the door shut and latch.  
Pushing open the door I walked into the main room that I was holed up in. I made sure to shut and latch the door before walking into the living room, planning on dragging out the blow up mattress for one of the two. Whoever wanted it, but it was out already. Resting between the two couches, flat. I glanced at 10k, who sat, puffing air into it and getting nowhere. I shook my head at him leaning against the wall, as he had not yet noticed me.  
He glanced up from where he sat on the floor his eyes went wide at the sight of me. “I have a pump to fill that with air much faster, if you don’t want to be there all night.” I spoke watching as his cheeks turned a rosy red. He didn’t say anything but nodded his head indicating he would appreciate that.  
Walking over to the closet I pulled the door open and pulled out the hand pump. I brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear as I handed him the pump. His gaze locked with mine for a moment before he looked down his blush getting deeper, “thank you.”  
“You are welcome,” I smiled slightly stepping away from him, but my gaze not leaving him.  
“Man, that was the best shower I’ve had in months,” I broke my gaze away from the raven-haired boy to gaze up at Doc as he walked into the room towel drying his hair. He looked at me and then to 10k a small smirk growing on his face, “I’m sorry, did I interrupt something?” he questioned and my brows furrowed.  
“No?” I spoke at the same time 10k said, “No.”  
“Okay, well kid. It’s your turn,” I looked down at 10k; he was busying himself filling the mattress with air.  
“I can wait, if… If Sondra wants to go and take her shower she can,” he spoke his voice low.  
“Go, you need it far more than I do. I will take care of the mattress,” at first he didn’t budge but after a couple of minutes he nodded his head and got up retreating to the bathroom. I kneeled where he had previously been and began to pump the mattress full of air. The baby hairs on the back of my neck rose and stood on end as a pair of eyes burned holes into the side of my face. Looking away from what I was doing I connected my gaze with Doc’s. “Yes?” I asked raising a brow at him.  
“I was just thinking? Do you happen to have any meds, like oxyconton or something?” I shook my head in reply to his question and bit down on my bottom lip, “aw man.” The hopeful look in his eyes faded and I sat back on my heels.  
“I’m sure one of the stores has a bunch stocked up on the shelves though,” that seemed to make the light return to his eyes. He settled down on the beige couch scanning the room.  
“Say, what happened to those people you said were the last live people you’ve seen?” I tensed momentarily.  
“I- They-“ I cleared my throat and forced my hand through my hair pumping the last bit of air into the mattress before sealing it shut. I sighed resting my hands in my lap and stared down at them. “I couldn’t get to them in time… They were running from a horde. There had to be at least 10 Z’s, and they had kids.” My voice broke and I took a deep breath not looking up. “I tried, I tried to get to them but by the time I even got close to them the Z’s were all over them… I can still hear their screams ya know? The cries for help the children made, the desperate cries the mother made as she watched her children torn apart before her own eyes,” I forced my voice to remain steady not allowing it to break, “I still see the look in the father's eyes, pleading with me to end their suffering. They were so desperate, so so desperate. All hope gone, he had given up because he knew that they didn’t stand a chance. He didn’t want to become one of those creatures, I could tell, he didn’t want any of them to.”  
I narrowed my eyes blinking away the tears that formed on my waterline. “What did you do?” I jumped at the sound of 10k’s voice. I looked up at him wondering when he had entered the room.  
Looking back down at my hands I sighed, “I did what I had to do. I gave them mercy and then when the Z’s cleared up. I buried them.”  
“You buried them?” he questioned.  
“Yes, everyone deserves to be put to rest. Not left out on the streets to rot,” I replied looking up at both 10k and Doc who were both seated on the beige couch, Doc in the middle and 10k on an arm.  
“I haven’t heard of anyone burying someone since… Well, a stranger they never knew since the beginning of it all,” Doc seemed to sober up as he spoke, “that is awfully kind of you to do that for them.”  
I just nodded my head and climbed to my feet, “there are blankets in the cabinet over there,” I pointed behind them, “ I am going to get washed up myself. With that said I walked out of the room and into the bathroom, grabbing my bag of clean clothes as I did so.  
Shutting the door behind me I tossed my bag onto the sink and walked over to the shower, reaching my hand in I turned the water on. Stepping back from the shower I turned towards the mirror and tilted my head to the side. I raised a hand and placed it on the side of my face dragging it down, creating a dirty black smudge all the way down my face and neck. I locked my gaze with my reflection, trying to analyze the emotions that flooded into my eyes. Shaking my head I stepped away from the mirror and stripped out of my clothes that had gotten a bit muddy from visiting the graves of the family I had buried almost two months ago. I then worked to gently remove the bandages that I had wrapped my thighs with.  
Taking a deep breath I cleared my mind before stepping under the scorching stream of the shower, hissing slightly at the burning sensation I felt for a few short minutes. My body quickly adjusted and for a while I just stood under the hot stream of water letting it wash away the dirt and troubles of today. I grabbed the bottle of shampoo squirting it into the palm of my hand then lathering it into my hair. I turned so the water was hitting my back; I tilted my head back and worked my fingers through my hair slowly scrubbing the shampoo from my hair. I then brushed a dollop of conditioner through my hair, moving on to scrub down my body until it turned red.  
I ran my hand down my thigh my fingers tracing the thin white lines that were on my thighs, suddenly a knot formed in my chest and I fell to my knees choking out sobs. I placed a shaky hand over my mouth trying to silence my cries as much as I could, hoping that the two on the other side of the door could not hear me. Sitting back under the stream of water I pulled my knees up to my chest hiding my face in-between my knees.  
I wasn’t sure how long I was in the position for, but I know the water had started to get cold making me shiver. A loud rasping on the door broke me from my trance, “Sondra? You okay, you’ve been in there an awfully long time…” I couldn’t distinguish whose voice it was but I silently thanked them for breaking me from that state. If it had gone on any longer I have done something I would have regretted in the morning.  
“I-I’m fine,” I replied loud enough that they could hear me before standing up and looking down at my thighs, studying the few lines on them that were new, fresh even. Switching the water off I pulled open the shower curtain and grabbed a towel, drying my body quickly.  
It was the same routine for me every night, break down in the shower and fall so far back into my depression that I add to my collection of cuts. One for every living being I have been unable to save, which would be seven. Wrapping the towel around my body I stepped out of the tub and stood in front of the bathroom sink, pressing my palms onto the counter I hung my head taking deep calming breaths willing the horrible thoughts to go away.  
Once everything went silent I wrapped my hair up in the towel and wrapped bandage around my thighs so they wouldn’t rub against the material of the jeans I pulled on, after I pulled on a pair of panties that is. I pulled on a bra and then pulled on a tank top over that, shoving my dirty clothes in a plastic bag with my other ones.  
Tugging the towel off of my head I tousled my hair, grabbing the brush from my bag I picked it up and walked out of the bathroom. I jumped back into the door the moment I glanced over and seen 10k leaning up against the wall. “You sure you are okay?” he questioned concern flashing across his face. I nodded my head and bit down on my bottom lip before walking over to the forest green couch and sitting down.  
I ran the brush through my hair repeatedly until all the snarls were gone, then tossed it back into my bag that rested at my feet.  
I looked over to the beige couch to see Doc already passed out, and then I looked at 10k who was laying on the mattress staring at me. As soon as he realized I had caught him staring his face flushed red and he turned away from me. Licking my lips I sighed getting up and blowing out the candles scatter around the room before grabbing a blanket and walking back over to my couch. Maneuvering around the mattress that 10k lay on. Lowering myself onto my couch and I curled up under the blanket and stared up at the ceiling. Thoughts of my life before the apocalypse flashing across my mind, thoughts of the life I was running from joining them.  
A deep sadness settled in my chest as I curled up, willing myself to sleep.


	2. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize that there are probably a few, if not a lot of spelling and grammar errors. In both the first chapter and this one, and there will be in more to come. All I have to say is I am human and I make mistakes, don't nag me about them please. I am trying, and I have friends reading through them checking them through for errors as well.
> 
> The Z's name is pronounced ah-vahn-chee  
> ~littleghosthunter

The loud groans haunt my best dreams. The images of faces slowly rotting, sinking in flash through my mind, the way their eyes transition from loving to emotionless breaks my heart. It is a never-ending nightmare: I wake up to face the horrors of this ugly world, and when I fall asleep the ugly world doesn’t give me a break.

“Mom! Come one, you can make it! Please,” I cried out throwing a glance over my shoulder. My steps faltered as I watched the Z’s slowly advance on her. I stopped and turned to wait for her, tears streaming down my face.  
“Go! Do not wait for me,” I shook my head forcing down my sobs, I refused to move. I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to leave her behind.  
“No, I won’t leave you! Don’t make me leave you,” I couldn’t help the choked sob that broke free along with the river of tears flowing freely down my cheeks.  
I knew it, I just didn’t want to acknowledge the fact that I knew that the Z’s were to fast for her. “Your sister, protect your sister! I love you… Both of you, tell your sister for me,” were the last words that slipped from her lips. The Z’s advanced on her; their hands dragging her to the ground where they feasted on her flesh.  
“No!” I moved to run and help her but a pair of arms wrapped around my waist stopping me. “Let me go, I need to save her! Please, my momma needs me,” my voice came out strangled as I fought for a breath between my sobs. I struggled in the grasp of the person who slowly drug me away from the scene. A mortified look crossed my face as I watched the Z’s rise turning towards us, that wasn’t the thing that mortified me though. No, it was the sight of my mother. She looked just like one of them, blood dripping from her mouth, her skin a rotted blue, her eyes emotionless and broken. “Oh god,” I choked as I placed my hand over my mouth.  
“We have to go,” my uncles gruff voice snapped me out of my horrified state. I looked back at my mom one last time before nodding my head and turning to follow him. We broke out into a run, away from the Z’s that turned my mother. The sound of a horrible scream caused me to loose my footing in shock, I was quick to catch myself though.  
“Sooonnddrraa,” my sister’s scream made my heart skip a beat, and gave me a reason to pick up my pace.  
“I’m coming, Ally. I’m coming.” I whispered to myself over taking my uncle, running in the direction of the truck that we had all packed up ready to go for our escape, which was when they attacked.  
When I spotted my sisters brown hair in the back of that truck I felt a sense of relief wash over me. “Thank god,” I rasped under my breath. She turned her head noticing me a few moments after I spotted her. I watched as she climbed out of the truck her eyes searching for something, I knew it was our mom and I wasn’t sure how I was going to break the news to her that our mother had not made it. I wasn’t worried about that at the moment, I was more worried about getting my sister somewhere safe.  
That was when everything went horribly wrong for the second time today, I watched as the Z ran up behind her. She was so oblivious to it, I tried to scream for her but my voice had caught in my throat.  
“Ally!” I tried to scream her name as loud as I could, but every time I tried it only came out as a whisper. I couldn’t move I was frozen in place, forced to watch, unable to do anything. It all happened in slow motion, the Z grabbing her from behind and then snapping its jaws down on her neck. Its head moved back tearing the skin on her neck from her body. She screamed and it echoed around me, the blood spurting from her neck decorating my body in red.  
“Nooooo!” my whole body shook, I felt like someone had ahold of me and I struggled against them. Crying and screaming, I wanted to help her but the person shaking me wouldn’t let me.  
That was when my world started to fade to black and a modulated voice echoed around in my mind. I sat up with a gasp, choking on a sob that caught in my throat. I stared ahead of me trying to still my labored breaths; I placed a hand over my racing heart trying to ignore the vivid dream that lingered on my mind. I felt the sweat dripping down my forehead. Raising a hand I ran it under my eyes just now noticing the tears that trailed down my face. A hand gently rested on my back causing me to bolt to my feet in a defensive position. The moment I assessed their faces I remembered the previous night, my arms then wrapped around my torso and I took a step back.  
“I’m sorry if I woke you up,” I whispered my gaze resting on my feet.  
“I’m not worried about that kid, are you okay?” Doc questioned his tone laced with worry.  
“Just had a bad dream is all, it's nothing to worry about,” I replied not looking up from my feet. I heard the shuffling of someone moving around before making his way in my direction. A pair of sneakers came into my view and I sighed, tensing as a calloused hand rested on my shoulder.  
“That did not sound like just a bad dream to me,” I shrugged his hand off of my shoulder and sighed looking up at him.  
“Its nothing, really. Don’t worry about it,” the look on his face told me he didn’t want to just forget about it, but it also told me that he knew I wasn’t going to give an answer.  
“When you're ready kid, I’ll listen,” he said before shuffling back over to the couch he had previously been sleeping on. I watched as he lay down curling up in the blanket, before dozing off minutes later. Sighing I walked over to the windows, resting my head against one of the boards as I stared down at the streets below. I felt a presence next to me, and I didn’t have to look over to know that 10k stood next to me. When I did look over to him, he was staring out the boarded up windows almost like I had been.  
Turning back towards the window I sighed closing my eyes as I rest my forehead against the board again. For some reason I took comfort in his presence, which to me was a foreign feeling, taking comfort in someone’s presence that is. Licking my chapped lips I wrapped my arms tighter around my torso.  
I relished in the cool breeze that snuck in through a crack that had formed in the glass through the years.  
“I used to have nightmares… of my dad. Him turning into one of those things, and me having to kill him,” his voice was hushed, as he probably didn’t want to disturb Doc.  
I turned my head looking up at him, his face was void of all emotion, but his eyes told a story that words would not be able to describe. In his eyes I could read every emotion he refused to let cross his face; the pain of a young teen who had to face the horrors of the new world on his own, the pain of having to be the one to pike his father, the struggles he went through just to get where he was today. I knew it all to well as I had experienced everyone of those myself.  
“Really? I’m sorry…” I whispered. He turned his head and looked down at me shrugging his shoulder slightly.  
“It had to be done,” he muttered as if it was nothing, but I could tell by the sorrow, and raw emotions in his eyes that it was more than nothing.  
“At least you could give him that, mercy that is. Now a days that is the best thing you can offer a person,” licking my lips I glanced back out the window.  
“Did you not get to mercy your parents?” he questioned as it slowly dawned on him.  
“My dad, I gave my dad mercy,” I nodded my head glancing at 10k out of the corner of my eye.  
He looked like he wanted to say something else, but then he decided against it. Which made me relax slightly. I didn’t want to go into detail about it, about my situation and my past. Getting into that would mean that I would have to explain my current situation and I didn’t want to get anyone involved if I didn’t have to. Brushing a strand of hair behind my ear I turned and pressed my back against the boards, leaning my head back I closed my eyes. “How do you do it?” I asked.  
“Do what?” 10k was a bit confused, I could tell by his tone.  
“Sleep; without waking up in a cold sweat, without waking up and hating yourself. How do you deal with it all so well?” I replied tilting my head in his direction and opening my eyes.  
He seemed to ponder what I said; I could see the gears ticking in his eyes as he found the right words. “I don’t. I still have nightmares of that night and many other nights after that, but I guess I just found a way to… cope? I’ve come to terms with my past, with everything and I guess I use it as a way to drive me to do what I do. Instead of letting it control me, consume me. I use it to my advantage,” while he spoke, he thought carefully about every word he, and about the way he worded it.  
“You make it sound so easy,” I sigh rubbing my palm against my forehead, “it’s hard to let go, move on.” ‘Especially when your past is slowly catching up to you, slowly ruining your life’ I thought furrowing my brows together.  
“It isn’t easy, nothing is ever easy. It took me a while to get a handle on things, but once I did. Everything changed; I became stronger, faster, and smarter. When the things, that were once my weaknesses, turned into strengths I became undefeatable- per say- No one is undefeatable,” I watched as he forced his hand through his raven spikes, “I was alone for the first three years, I found myself in those years. I turned myself into who I am, but the group also shaped me… It is harder to move on when you are by yourself and you have no one to walk you through your troubles and pains. Sometimes all you need is a helping hand. Someone who is willing to walk with you through all the ups and downs, someone to be your rock.”  
I raised a brow at him the corners of my lips twitching up into a slight smile. “How is it, that you know just the right things to say?” I questioned shaking my head. Closing my eyes I covered my mouth as a yawn slipped out. “I don’t think I’ll be able to get back to sleep after that… dream,” I muttered, “d-do you… do you, think that- Er, never mind.” Walking back over to the couch I lowered myself down onto the middle cushion, resting my head in my palms.  
I felt the cushion next to me sink, and I lifted my head to find 10k sat next to me. Looking at me, not really sure what he should do. A few moments later he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest before lying back against the armrest.  
I tensed up in his grasp at first, confused, until I realized he was just trying to offer me comfort and to help me get back to sleep. Taking advantage of the opportunity I curled up against his side placing my head against his chest. I was quickly enveloped in warmth when he pulled the blanket I had been using over the both of us.  
“I don’t know how you know to do this, it’s like you know what a girl needs and when she needs it, but thank you,” I whispered before dozing off into sleep, not catching what he said in reply.

“Now isn’t that something,” a soft voice whispered.  
“Doc-“  
“I was asleep man, I didn’t know. Maybe he was just comforting her, she did have a really bad dream,”  
“They look so peaceful, maybe we should just leave them,” a voice suggested.  
“No, we have to get back on the mission,” groaning I cuddled up closer to my heat source burying my face into my pillow. Wait, pillow? I don’t own pillows, and I know for a fact that a blanket would never keep me this warm.  
“Sh, dudes you are gonna wake them,”  
“That’s the point Doc,”  
“Aw, but Warren. They look so-“  
“No,”  
“Fine,” Doc pouted.  
I felt the thing I was curled up to being shook and sighed. I didn’t want to get up, as this had been the best sleep I have gotten in over two years. There was a rumbling under my head causing me to scrunch up my face. Which was when I took the time to think about it, I didn’t have pillows, my blankets weren’t that warm, and a pillow wouldn’t rumble.  
That was when I really came to my senses, there was an arm draped around my waist, a solid surface under my hand, and a steady heartbeat under my head. My eyes went wide and I squirmed around until I was able to sit up. I looked over to the boy a deep red blush rising to my cheeks the moment I met his gaze. He blushed as well, looking away from me to the group that stood around the couch looking at us.  
“I am never going to hear the end of this,” 10k grumbled under his breath probably hoping no one heard, of course he wasn’t that lucky.  
“Right you are kid,” Doc chuckled as he exchanged glances with Addy.  
I bit down on my bottom lip, realizing that I was sat in-between 10k’s legs I crawled off of the couch clearing my throat. “So, for the gas and supplies…” I trailed off clapping my hands together, hoping to distract them from the embarrassing scene a couple of minutes ago.  
“If you want to get going right away we are going to have to head out… Now,” I said as I brushed past the group over to where I had left my stuff. I had this building cleared out, and I was comfortable enough here that I didn’t feel the need to have my weapons near me. Kneeling down I dug around in the bag pulling out a flannel I pulled it on over the tank top. I slipped my feet into my boots before tucking a few blades into my boots, placing my gun in its holster and into the waistband of my jeans. Tugging my shirt down over the gun to hid it I grabbed a switchblade and placed it into my back pocket. Zipping my weapons bag shut I shoved it into my duffle bag, zipping that shut as well.  
It was habit to keep all of my stuff in one place that way if I ever needed to take off I could just grab it, load up on supplies and go. Brushing my fingers through my hair I stood turning to face the group. “The oil refinery is outside of town and there are a few Z’s lingering there, probably less than what you’ve encountered before. I’ve never tried getting close there are too many for me to handle and they are tough. You have to hit them right between the eyes because any other place on their heads is like armor. They are mutated in a way I have never seen,” pausing I scanned their faces before stopping on Vasquez, “If you miss your target they are going to get pissed, they are going to try and go after you. Of course you are a group, and have each others back right?”  
“Yes,” Warren replied.  
“Good, you’ll need that facing these monsters,” I spoke before walking over to the door.  
“Wait,” Vasquez stopped me by grabbing onto my arm. Turning my head I looked at him with a raised brow. “I don’t trust you, if these things are as dangerous as you say they are then we are not going with you. For all we know you could be dragging us there to distract the damn things while you take all the fuel and then leave us to die.”  
I gritted my teeth as I tried to pull my arm from his grasp but he just gripped my arm tighter. “If I wanted you dead you’d be dead. I have no reason to kill any of you, though you are giving me a pretty good one right now,” I hissed, “you don’t have to believe me, but I’ve thinned them out over the past two months. There are too many for me to face at once, so I go and I kill them off slowly. They are in one big group so if one goes down, the other get rowdy and angry. Which is why it is something that is impossible to do on your own. In a group, especially one like yours, they don’t stand a chance. If you don’t want to come you don’t have to. Now I’d appreciate it if you let go of my arm, you are already bruising it I don’t need you cutting off the circulation.” I stared into his eyes willing him to believe me, to trust me.  
“Vasquez, let the kid go,” Doc said softly. Vasquez’s grip tightened on my arm and I narrowed my eyes at him. We stood like that for a couple of minutes, before he finally let go of my arm.  
“Thank you, now. If you are ready, we can go, and if you want we can split up. Half goes and gets the fuel the other goes and gets supplies,” I suggested my gaze not leaving Vasquez.  
“No, we stay together,” he growled, I internally rolled my eyes. Turning back towards the door I pulled it open and walked out into the hall.  
“These things, how strong are they?” Addy asked as she fell into step beside me.  
“All I have to say is distance and high ground are your best friends when dealing with these things,” licking my lips I glanced over at Addy, “I don’t know how strong these things are, they have tough skin and they are big…”  
Looking down at my feet I bit down on my bottom lip, out of the corner of my eye I seen Addy nod slightly her eyes widening slightly. “How did you find out that you have to hit them right between the eyes to kill them?”  
“When I first found the refinery there were Z’s crawling all over it. Within a week I had cleared them out, but then these things showed up, I shot at them as if they were normal Z’s… I mean I thought they were. When nothing happened besides the fact that I pissed them off, I learned and fast at that. There is always a weak spot, always. Before all of this happened I had a friend, he was very well versed on the human body and knew the weakest spots of the human body. He told me that if you were to stabb someone with a paperclip or something right between the brows, they would lose their sight and hearing. I thought about it and if that is the softest spot on the human body then it had to be the Z’s weak spot. I tested the theory out, and I was right,” I trailed my hand along the banister as we walked down the stairs.  
At first Addy didn’t say anything, and when I glanced over at her I knew she was thinking hard about what I had said. “That’s interesting… guess you were lucky to have a friend like that,” she spoke.  
I nodded my head smiling slightly, “Yeah. He actually taught me quite a bit about fighting. Or at least educated me, I don’t know if he is alive yet today, but he was a fighter so if he isn’t he definitely went down fighting.” A light laugh slipped out of my lips as I thought about him, shaking my head I looked down at my feet.  
I felt Addys hand rest on my shoulder squeezing it slightly, I glanced over at her and half smiled.  
“Who are your best shooters?” I questioned glancing back at the group.  
“10k and Vasquez,” Warren replied immediately, not having to think twice about it.  
Nodding my head I pushed out the front door and turned towards the group. “When we get there we are going to split up,” Vasquez opened his mouth to speak but I held my hand up hushing him. “You and 10k will be positioned up high where you can get the best aim, you four will find somewhere out of the way, while I lure them into range.”  
“What? No way, if they are as dangerous as you say they are there is no way I am letting you run in there to your death,” Addy protested taking a step in my direction.  
“Someone needs to get them into range and I know the place best as I’ve studied it over the past two months. It has to be me, I am relying on all of you not to let me get killed,” I looked away from Addy to scan the group. “Stay close to each other and watch each others backs… Come on, if we want to get there and back by noon we can’t stand here and talk all day.” Turning on my heels I walked in the direction of the oil refinery, knowing the rest of the group would be following me.  
“Why can’t we take the truck?” Doc asked.  
“First, you said it is low on gas. Probably not smart to be driving it around on fumes. Second, they have a great sense of hearing. If we approach on foot they won’t know we are there until we are on them,” I replied answering for Warren.

The rest of the walk there everyone was silent. Probably lost in thought. The moment the refinery came into view I stopped and turned towards everyone. I zeroed in on 10k and Vasquez, “ over there you see that silo? You can get the best shot from up there. It is high enough off the ground, and far enough away that there is no risk of them getting to you.” I turned towards the other four my gaze scanning the horizon. “The top of those buildings, you are close enough that you don’t need a high powered weapon to get a shot to go far enough, but you are far enough that the Z’s won’t come after you. Not that they will as they’ll be too focused on me.”  
I didn’t wait for anyone to say anything just turned and started walking in the direction of the refinery. “Be careful,” Vasquez’s voice caused me to stop. Glancing over my shoulder at the group I nodded my head.  
“I’ll wait for you guys to get into position before I draw them out,” I replied before walking away from them, being sure to stick to the shadows letting the trees shade hide me from sight. I crouched down and squinted my eyes looking in the distance, watching as 10k and Vasquez’s figures climbed up the silo. Biting down on my bottom lip I turned my head watching as the other three disappeared into the building. Wait, three? I didn’t see Murphy with them and my heart dropped.  
My eyes widened as I snapped my head around looking for a sign of him but he was nowhere to be found. I chewed on my bottom lip nervously. The way everyone signaled they were in position was with a glass object that reflected the light. I stood up still searching for Murphy, when I didn’t see him I took a deep shaky breath. I just hoped he was somewhere safe and wasn’t off doing something stupid- unlike me.  
I followed the tree line as far as I could since it ended right at the edge of the refinery. I bolted towards a building pressing my back against the wall and sliding along until I had come to the corner. Peering around the corner my breath hitched at the sight of the ugly beasts. They looked bigger and far more intimidating up close. ‘One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… ones missing,’ at that moment the sound of a twig snapping to the right of me caught my attention.  
I turned my head gazing at the Z with wide eyes. I stumbled away from the wall, grabbing my gun from the holster and aiming it at the large beast. I didn’t take my time to aim properly instead just pulling the trigger. His shoulder jerked to the right but that didn’t slow his approach. If anything it increased his pace.  
When I came up with this idea I had not foreseen it playing out this way, pulling the trigger again I took a few steps back glancing to my left noticing I had caught the attention of the other eight. “Shit,” I bit down on my tongue as I fired a few more rounds at the Z that had almost snuck up on me; as I continued to back away from the approaching Z’s I went over an escape route in my head, a way that I could get them to follow me, all while not dying. “Okay. You need to get them out into the open; you need to get them really angry. They won’t follow you unless you truly piss them off,” I muttered to myself as I thought of the different ways I could get them angry. There was only one way to truly piss them off though and that was to kill one of them.  
Stopping in my tracks I raised the gun and took a deep calming breath. I aimed steadying my shaking hands; the Z continued to get closer and closer. It wasn’t until he was close enough to grab me that I pulled the trigger. I jumped back out of its reach, praying that I had killed him.  
I missed; I could see the bullet lodged in the soft tissue around the weak spot. Its face contorted to pure rage, as did the others, “I guess that pisses you off more than I imagined it would… New plan, run,” I spoke as I spun around and bolted in the direction of where everyone would be expecting me to show up. The sound of feet pounding on the ground behind me made me pick up my pace. I forced myself to run faster, continuously picking up speed in my haste to get away from the creatures. I glanced over my shoulder to see them lumbering after me.  
‘I’m dead, so dead,’ I thought before turning my attention back to where I was running. I was for sure dead if I tripped and fell because I wasn’t paying attention to where I was running. Finally, after what felt like forever, I ran out into the large open plain between the buildings and the silo. I turned my head enough that I could see one of them; he was closer to me than I had anticipated. My heart jolted as his arm swung out for me, almost latching onto me. I forced myself to move faster, ecstatic to hear the echoing of shots firing around me. Sometimes the bullets were close enough that I could hear them zip past me, but I was not really that worried about the bullets. If one of them hit me, I probably wouldn’t notice due to the adrenaline pumping through my veins.  
When I realized that if I continued to run the Z’s would be out of range for everyone, I turned to face the ugly things. They had shot down five of them, but there were still four left. I knew I had to hold my ground in order to keep the Z’s in at least 10k and Vasquez’s range, raising my gun I pulled the trigger until the clip was empty. Two more dropped, and I felt a bit of relief. There were two left, but by now the adrenaline had worn off. My legs felt wobbly underneath my weight, and a spell of dizziness washed over me.  
I fell to my knees dropping the pistol in my grip. I shakily reached behind me, pulling up the back of my shirt I grabbed the pistol I had tucked into my jeans. Raising my arm I aimed in the direction of the Z’s, but I couldn’t keep my arm steady enough to get off a shot. Plus I was seeing doubles so I would never be able to tell which one was real and which one wasn’t. Resting my hands in my lap I tilted my head back taking deep breaths. If this was how I was going to die, then so be it.  
I waited for what felt like an eternity for the feeling of the teeth ripping into my skin and tearing it to shreds but it never came. When I opened my eyes murphy was in front of me his hands out. “Get up,” his spoke gruffly not taking his eyes off of the Z’s.  
I tried to get to my feet like he wanted, but my legs felt numb. I had never pushed myself as hard as I did, and if it weren’t for the adrenaline I would have collapsed a while after I made it into the clearing. “I-I can’t. I used all of my energy. I pushed myself to run faster and harder than I ever have…” I took a deep breath, “I don’t have enough energy.” My voice was a barely above a whisper.  
“I can’t hold them off for long, you need to get up. You need to run,” his voice sounded strained, which caught my attention. His whole body was shaking and he looked about ready to collapse as well. Just as he lost control two shots rung through the air, and the Z’s dropped to the ground. I felt relief wash over me as I leaned my weight on my arms.  
“Ho- how did you do that?” I questioned Murphy who stood with his hands on his knees.  
“Don’t you know? I am the zombie messiah,” he replied causing me to raise my brow.  
“I told you to go up onto the roof with the others,” I hissed.  
“Sweetheart, I don’t answer to anyone but Warren,” was his reply, which irked me.  
“Well, Murphy. You could have gotten yourself killed, what would the CCD lab in California do without their ‘savior?’ If you die, those antibodies in your blood die with you,” I narrowed my eyes at him, puzzled as to why he would be so reckless.  
“A thank you would have sufficed, next time I won’t save your life,” he grumbled as he straightened his back.  
Shaking my head I tucked my pistol band into the waistband of my jeans, and my other one into its holster. “Next time I won’t let those things get the jump on me,” I replied more to myself than to him. He scoffed crossing his arms before walking over to the Z’s.  
Brushing my fingers through my hair my breathing finally began to steady, and I could see straight again. I rested my hands on my knees and hung my head peering through my hair at Murphy. He was intently studying the Avanche, probably trying to understand their mutations. Everything about these zombies was far from normal, and I knew that often times how and where a Z died was involved in how it mutated. Nothing in this universe made sense for these Z’s though.  
I tensed at the sound of approaching footsteps, but relaxed when Murphy looked up and grumbled before looking back down. Turning my head I looked over my shoulder identifying the approaching figures as Warren, Doc and Addy. Both Doc and Addy kneeled in front of me, “Hey, you okay?” Addy’s soft voice greeted my ears and I nodded in reply.  
“Yeah, I just have never pushed myself that hard before. That and I really haven’t had to work to survive these past two months that I got a bit out of shape,” I chuckled trying to lighten up the mood.  
“You almost gave me a heart attack kid, there were moments when the Z’s were this close to getting to you,” Doc held his fingers up, inches apart to indicate how far it was from his point of view. My mouth turned up into a half smile and I shook my head. Doc placed his hand on my shoulder, massaging it lightly.  
“I wasn’t going to give up that easy. I pushed myself as hard as I could and it worked for me. Now the refinery is safe to get fuel from. So don’t waste your time. Go get your fuel,” I said as I removed Doc’s hand from my shoulder.  
“Go, find anything you can fill up with fuel,” Warren spoke to both Addy and Doc before looking up at Murphy, “and take him with you.” They nodded their heads and climbed to their feet.  
I felt Addys fingers brush my arm before she followed Doc over to where Murphy was; they exchanged a few words before he got up and followed them. I direct my gaze to Warren the moment she crouched down in front of me. “Thank you, I mean it.” She smiled at me softly before standing up as Vasquez and 10k approached.  
“You are one brave kid,” Vasquez chuckled, “a bit idiotic, but brave. You could have gotten killed and for a moment there I thought you were going to be. Until Murphy jumped in- now that was stupid… I was wrong about you, and I don’t like admitting I was wrong but I was wrong not to trust you.”  
“So is that your way of saying sorry?” I questioned raising my brow.  
He just smiled at me before turning to Warren and walking off in the direction of the oil refinery talking. A hand showed up in my vision, I looked up following the arm to find 10k. Taking his hand I allowed him to pull me to my feet. I stumbled into him once I had gotten to my feet. He didn’t seem to care though, he left me use him to lean until I was able to stand on my own again.  
“That was a close call,” he mumbled and I laughed slightly.  
“So everyone has said,” I replied looking over at him, “I was ready… To die, I had done my part. I helped to make the oil refinery safe for you guys to obtain your fuel. I thought I was going to die and I was ready to. I guess fate decided it wasn’t my time.”  
10k didn’t say anything at first instead choose to study me. “You know, Murphy rarely does that sort of thing for people,” when 10k spoke he tilted his head to the side.  
“Are you saying I should feel honored? He may have saved my life but he was a jerk about it,” I muttered.  
“That is about all you can expect from him,” he replied making me raise a brow.  
Rolling my eyes and I shook my head before glancing around at the scenery. The oil refinery was huge and it had acres of woods on one side of it and farmland on the other side. The wheat in the fields grew to almost 3 feet, which was huge. The trees were bunched together, so if someone were to hide in amongst the trees in the right place no one would know they were there. “Come on, we should go and help your group out,” I spoke and turned walking in the direction that the others had disappeared in.  
As I was walking I listened to the world around me, I could hear the dry grass crunch underneath both mine and 10ks feet, the rustling of the leaves as a breeze danced through the trees, the melodic chirping of the birds that sat on the branches of the trees, and the low rumble of an engine. I stopped momentarily as I turned my head in the direction of the noise, “why did yo-“ I held my hand up to quiet 10k.  
Slowly the rumble of the engine, and for a second the whole world around me stood still as fear coursed through my veins. I felt like I had forgot how to breath, and when everything seemed to unfreeze 10k was holding my arm to keep me from falling to the ground.  
When I came to my sense I latched onto 10ks arm and practically drug him into the trees. I didn’t understand how they always seemed to find me, I knew it was always a matter of time but this was ridiculous. I was finally happy, I finally found somewhere I love and would happily die at but they always had to show up and ruin everything.  
I crouched down behind the brush pulling 10k with me, not really thinking as I did so. He was going to ask questions, he was going to bring it up to his group and they were going to ask questions, questions that I didn’t have answers for.  
My gaze landed on the road that went past the oil refinery and I prayed that his group was somewhere out of sight. I didn’t want them to risk being seen and attracting the men in the truck, not just because it’s for my own good but it's for their own good to. After what felt like eternity the truck drove out from behind the trees. At the sight of that familiar truck I ducked down further hiding behind the trunk of a tree.  
I took deep breaths hoping to calm my racing heart, my gaze followed the truck and when it slowed down as it neared the refinery my heart stopped. “No no no no, keep going. Don’t stop. Do not stop,” as if they had heard me and listened the truck picked up speed again and drove off into the distance. When the truck disappeared from sight I released the breath I hadn’t realized I had been holding as I pressed my forehead against the bark of the tree. If they had known there were people here they would have stopped and interrogated them searching for answers. They were looking for me and they would hurt anyone who stands in their way, and these people were good they didn’t deserve the torture they would put them through.  
I felt a hand wrap around my wrist, which caused me to jump. I looked down to 10ks hand, and I remembered I hadn’t actually let go of his arm I had been holding it this whole time. I blushed and let go of his arm, examining it where I had dug my nails into his arm. “I’m sorry…” I trailed off as I wiped away a droplet of blood on his arm where my nail had broken through the skin.  
“It's not a big deal, come on. Warren is probably wondering where we are,” he stood up pulling me up with him. I nodded my head following him silently. When we found them everyone had two gas cans, one in each hand.  
“About time kid,” Doc spoke as he turned spotting us.  
“What took you two so long?” Addy questioned a little smirk on her face as she exchanged looks with Doc. He wiggled his brows at 10k who choose to ignore them. He walked over to where there were four other full cans of fuel and picked up two of them. I stood still waiting for him to tell them the truth, about what had just happened but he didn’t.  
“Do you guys really have to ask? It is clear nothing happened,” Murphy replied for 10k rolling his eyes. I furrowed my brows confused as to what they were all going on about. I didn’t say anything though, just walked over to where 10k stood by the other to gas cans.  
Lifting them off of the ground I looked up at him questioning him with my eyes, he just shook his head before walking off. Everyone followed suit a few moments later, tossing around jokes and poking fun at 10k as I silently trailed along behind the group.


	3. New Beginnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again. Errors. I am working to fix them now, with the help of my friends. Also sorry it is a bit short, it is like at least 1000 words shorter than my last two chapters. 
> 
> ~littleghosthunter

On our walk back towards the town Addy fell back behind the group alongside of me, she didn’t say anything at first. For the first few minutes she would glance over at me and then back to where she was walking, which was kind of annoying. I knew she wanted to say something and the fact that she just wasn’t spitting it out was what irked me. This time when she looked over at me I met her gaze, willing her to just come out with it.  
She sighed, “What happened?” I was confused by her question. What did she mean what happened”  
“I am afraid I don’t understand your question,” I replied looking to the path in front of me.  
“What happened while you and 10k were separated from the group? Normally he blushes and tries to mutter a defense when we tease him, but he completely shut us out. He rarely ever shuts us out, so something must have happened,” she concluded with her brows brought together. I bit down on my bottom lip my gaze landing on my feet for a moment.  
“Something happened… I don’t think he is saying anything because he knows I don’t want him to. It is something- something I’m not ready to share with people I’ve just met,” I muttered.  
Glancing over at Addy I chewed on my bottom lip, “I understand, there isn’t that trust yet. Now in this world you have to learn to trust someone faster than before the apocalypse, because it’s a kill or get killed world.” I furrowed my brows as I thought about what she said. Slowly I nodded my head, I understood where she was coming from and it made sense. The only thing was that after today, I’d never see them again.  
‘Unless…’ The rest of the walk back to town I pondered bringing up the idea of me going with them. If I did I would eventually have to tell them everything, preferably before the men in the truck find me with them. Otherwise they would never be prepared.

When we returned to the town the first place we stopped was their truck, we loaded all the gas cans into the back before I gave them directions in which to go to get to the convenience stores. No one questioned why I wasn’t going with them, though both Addy and 10k offered to go with me. I rejected their offers telling them that it was best if they went and gathered as much as they could.  
I waited until they were out of sight before I cut across the street and walked up the steps into the Jailhouse. I walked through to the back stopping at the desk where the guards would sit to better observe their prisoners. Pulling open drawers I dug around for a set of keys, finally finding them buried under a ton of papers in the very last drawer I checked.  
Closing my fingers around the keys I sighed and cradled my hand against my chest. I made my way over to the cell door where I stood for a bit just watching Allen. I placed the key in the lock, but before I unlocked the cell I reached down into my boot and pulled out one of my blades.  
“This is goodbye,” I spoke catching his attention. After I unlocked the cell I pulled the door open and hesitantly stepped inside. “I give you mercy,” I whispered as I plunged the knife into his head after I neared him. Pulling the knife out I walked out of the cell and over to the desk grabbing a paper. I used the paper to clean the blade off as best I could before I shoved it back into my boot. A sigh left my lips as I glanced over my shoulder at the open cell where I left Allen. Turning to walk back out towards the front, a small squeal slipped out of my lips and I jumped back bumping into the desk.  
“Y-you scared me,” I gasped placing my hand over my racing heart, “how long have you been there?”  
10k shrugged his shoulders, “the whole time.” I gaped at him before shaking my head.  
“I would have noticed you,”  
“Nope, you looked pretty preoccupied. Like you were on a mission,”  
Pursing my lips I crossed my arms, “I was… Why didn’t you tell anyone?” I tilted my head back to look up at him as I pulled myself up onto the desk.  
“It isn’t my secret to tell,” he said as he met my gaze.  
I gazed at him my brows furrowing, the fact that even though the world has gone to hell, he still followed the pre Z ways. It shocked me honestly because this had to be the first group to ever do so. They were all like that, well maybe excluding Murphy and Vasquez.  
“We should find the group before they think something happened to you,” I spoke breaking the silence that had settled between us.  
“They know where I am,” he looked like he wanted to say more but he didn’t. Brushing past him in the doorway, I walked through the station up to the front doors.  
“Why were you so frightened of the truck or the people in the truck?” He questioned. I froze with my hand on the door a shaky breath leaving me.  
I didn’t know what to say, he had caught me off guard, I didn’t want to lie but I didn’t want to tell him the truth either. “They are bad people,” was all I said before pushing through the doors. Crossing my arms around my torso I looked back at 10k over my shoulder, “did they happen to mention in which way they planned on going?”  
“Warren said that there was a place near to where the shelter is,” he replied after thinking about it for a bit.  
I scoured my mind, thinking of all the places that one could get food near my home. The closest one I knew of was a small shop a block of two away from the shelter. Pursing my lips I thought about it for a second before deciding that is where we, or I would check first. “Follow me, I think I have an idea as to where they are.” Without waiting for him I turned and went in the direction of the little shop that I had guessed they would be.  
Brushing my fingers through my hair I turned my head to be sure on whether or not 10k was following me. “Do you know which store they were talking about?” I asked.  
“No, they just said it was close to the shelter,” chewing on my bottom lip I looked ahead of me nodding my head.  
After a bit of walking we stopped outside of the rather large store, I tilted my head to the side as I approached the doors. Placing my hand on the handle I glanced over at 10k who had his gun at the ready just in case. I yanked open the door and 10k went in first. I followed him in, stepping where he stepped and being sure to stay close to him. If something were to jump out of them she would rely on him because of the fact that she wasted a whole clip and a half so she only had a few bullets and a couple knives.  
For a split second I stopped paying attention to where he was stepping and when I took a step forward my foot slipped, I reached out and tried to latch onto the back of his shirt but he took a step forward before I could. Though he must of sensed something was wrong as he turned around just in time to catch me before I fell and caused a commotion. “Thanks,” I whispered once I had steadied myself.  
He gave me a nod of his head before turning to walk further into the store heading back in the direction of the food aisles. I latched onto the back of his shirt as to not loose him, I could feel his muscles tense underneath the material but he didn’t say anything.  
“What if they aren’t in here?” he questioned glancing at me over his shoulder, or in my direction, as it was actually quite dark in here.  
“Well, then they aren’t in here. There aren’t going to be any traps in here, or Z’s. If they aren’t in here then we are going to have to backtrack to the next closest store,” I whispered back.  
To be truthful I wasn’t exactly sure why we were whispering, if there really wasn’t anybody in here then we didn’t have to worry. I knew there weren’t and Z’s here as I checked and cleared every building throughout the past two months I have been here. Finally we reached the food aisles, when we did we slowed our pace and I released my grip on his shirt. Licking my lips I placed my hand on the metal of one of the aisles and listened for the sound of hushed whispers or shuffling. At first I heard nothing, it made me wonder if my guess had actually been wrong about where they were.  
Then I heard someone whisper, looking back at 10k I nodded my head in the direction of where it came from. I wasn’t sure if it was Warren and the others or not so I didn’t want to say anything. I listened a bit more seeing if I could distinguish the vibrations from the voice and figure out who was on the other side of the aisle.  
I bit down on my bottom lip and closed my eyes solely concentrating on my sense of hearing. “Warren, are you really considering asking her to go with us to California?” I identified the voice to be Murphy’s, and what he said kind of shocked me. Warren was going to offer to let me join their group?  
“Yes, she has skills that could be vital to our survival and getting you to California. Besides, I thought you liked her,” placing my hand on one of the racks I leaned into the aisle slightly, unable to catch what Murphy grumbled in reply.  
I turned my head to look at 10k, “It’s them.”  
He nodded his head and stepped around me, grabbing the flashlight he had resting in his pocket. A whistle slipped out from between his lips and he clicked his flashlight on and off a few times as his way of telling the group it was him without putting them on edge.  
I followed him around the aisle to where the group was, my gaze locked on my feet. “There you two are, we were getting worried,” Addy spoke as she walked over to where we were standing. I looked up at her and raised a brow; we hadn’t been separated from the group that long. Of course, in this world anything could happen at any minute.  
“10k, grab the supplies you can. We are almost ready to go, just a few more things,” Warren spoke as she heaved her large bag over her shoulder. 10k nodded his head and turned to walk off and gather supplies but stopped when Warren spoke again, “Addy you go with him.” I watched as they both walked off silently standing in place waiting to see what she was going to say next.  
“Doc, Murphy, Vasquez, take this stuff to the truck. Load it up and then bring it around,” Doc and Murphy picked up as much as they could carry and turned to walk off but Murphy just stood where he was silently protesting. “Now,” she warned as she narrowed her eyes at him.  
“Alright fine,” he grumbled, but he didn’t grab anything he just turned and followed Doc and Vasquez.  
We watched as they disappeared out of sight, and she waited until they were out of hearing range before she turned to look at me. “I want you to come with us,” she said bluntly. My eyes widened, I knew that it was coming but I didn’t think she would have been so blunt with it.  
“Warren… I want to go with you guys- I just, I’m running from someone. Well, more than one someone. I don’t want to put you guys in danger, you are all so kind and the things that they would do… You guys don’t deserve that. They are horrible people and they won’t stop until they get what they want, me,” I pause and look down at my feet, “I really want to go with you guys. I do, but now that I think about it I don’t want to put any of you in danger.”  
When I looked up at her, her face was void of all emotion and when I looked into her gaze the gears in her head seemed to be turning.  
“We can handle anything and anyone. We can protect you from these people,” she finally spoke and walked over to where I stood. I shook my head as I held her gaze.  
“You don’t understand, they collect Z’s. They use them to do their dirty work, they had trailers full of Z’s that they travel with in case they ever need them,” I whispered watching the look of shock cross her face.  
“We can handle Z’s,” Warren pushed and I sighed.  
“They strike when you are preoccupied with the hordes… These people have no humanity left; they are psychotic and will kill without a second thought about it. They could care less if you are innocent or not, if you are standing in the way of what they want they will kill you,” as I spoke a tear trailed down my cheek.  
“Why were you with these people?” she questioned concern lacing her tone.  
“B-because they were my family…” I trailed off and looked away from her.  
I’m sure she was probably shocked by my reply, “why did you run away from them?”  
“I couldn’t take it anymore, they started killing people for fun. To add to their collection… They wouldn’t let me mercy the two people who meant the world to me,” I sniffled the tears running freely down my cheeks.  
“What do you mean?”  
“If one of our family died, they didn’t give them mercy. They believe that when one dies and turns, god has given them a second chance, so they take them and they use them for their own good. My mother and sister, they are in cages with others who have died. Sometimes they’ll kidnap someone and throw them into the cage so they can feed… I don’t want to go back to that, I don’t want to have to think about the fact that I am sharing a house with the rotting corpse of my mom and my sister.” I stared hard at the shelf that I stood next to.  
Warren didn’t say anything after that, she was probably rethinking her offer to let me go with them, “If I stay here, you guys are safe and I am safe for the moment…”  
“What happens if you go back?” I bit down on my bottom lip before looking at her.  
“Honestly? I don’t know. I’m sure I’ve broken quite a few rules and if you break enough rules then…. They turn you into food for the Z’s. They don’t tolerate rule breakers, and just by running away like I did I broke at least four rules. As I stole rations and weapons before I left,” for a second I had to think about it, how many rules did I actually break by leaving? I know it had to be more than four with how strict they were. “If you break more than ten rules within a certain amount of time they won’t show you any mercy.”  
“I want you to come with us, we can protect you from them. You don’t ever have to go back there,” I opened my mouth to protest but she held her hand up cutting me off, “I get they are dangerous people, but so are we. I will not let them get you.”  
I sighed not wanting to argue as I seen she really wasn’t going to give me a choice. Nodding my head I met her gaze and watched as a smile formed on her face, “good, Addy, 10k you guys can come out.” My eyes widened and I glanced over my shoulder watching as the two sheepishly stepped around the aisle.  
“I swear we weren’t there long, we just heard you talking and it sounded important and so we didn’t want to interrupt,” Addy tried to defend them but it was clear that they had been there for a while.  
“Mhm, did you two get everything you could?” Warren asked not pushing the matter any further. They nodded their heads in reply, Warren then turned to me.  
“I have a truck with a topper on the back, if you want to store some stuff in there you can,” I muttered deciding that if Warren was giving me the chance to get away then I was going to take it. She knew what to be prepared for, Addy and 10k knew. The others would eventually be filled in, so it was only a matter of time before they all knew my secret. What scared me though was if they found it out, and decided they didn’t trust me, that they want me gone, as they feel unsafe with me around.  
A smile formed on Warrens face and she nodded her head, “That would be great actually. Having two vehicles means that no one has to ride out in the open.” With that said she turned and walked out towards the front of the store.  
“So you’re coming with us?” Addy asked as she stopped next to me.  
“Um, yeah I guess I am,” I replied.  
“Great! Finally another girl to bond with,” a smile grew on her face as she looped her arm through mine. She pulled me along towards the front of the store, and I followed without arguments.  
I glanced over my shoulder at 10k who trailed behind us, he looked lost in thought as he was gazing off into the distance. I was kind of shocked that he didn’t trip over anything as if I were to try to walk and space at the same time I would end up hurt. I turned my attention back to where I was walking, as I didn’t want to trip over my own feet and bring Addy down with me.  
When we walked outside I noticed their black truck parked out front, I spotted Warren and Vasquez stood at the tailgate talking. I slipped my arm out of Addys then made my way over to Warren and Vasquez.  
“Warren… I think we should get going as soon as we can. I- I seen their truck this morning, and I know they are looking for me. They are getting close. If we stay here any longer all of you are in danger,” I spoke catching their attention. Warren gazed at me a solemn look crossed her face and she gave me a short nod of her head. Vasquez didn’t really say anything, he just stared at me a grim look on his face.  
“They won’t have the chance to get close to you,” he finally spoke meaning he knew what I was talking about.  
“Alright people, in the truck.” Warren’s voice boomed, demanding attention. Everyone did as she said, and she turned to me.  
“We will stop to get your stuff and your truck, Okay?” I nodded.  
“The truck is in the alley, and the keys are on the seat. I’ll run up to grab my stuff, you guys get the truck running,” I spoke.  
“Sounds good, just don’t take to long,” she warned, I gave a curt nod of my head before I climbed up on the tailgate, sitting on the side of the truck. I gripped the side, my whole body jolted as the truck took off, and I had to tense my body in order to stay where I was. My graze traveled over to 10k, he stood overlooking the path we took towards the shelter. The moment the truck pulled up outside of the shelter, I hopped over the side of the truck not waiting for it to stop.  
“10k you go with Sondra just in case,” Warren’s voice carried over to me as I walked up to the building. The sound of feet colliding with pavement, then trotting in my direction followed Warrens order. I didn’t have to turn around to know he was following me. I pulled open the door and made my way towards the stairs.  
“I don’t know why she asked you to come with me, its not like there is anything we have to worry about. There are no Z-“ I was cut off by a form lumbering towards me, it knocked me back into the wall. A gasp left my lips, my eyes scanning the towering form as I struggled against it. Leaning, or trying to, away as its jaws snapped at me trying to bite into any bare skin it could. I got a glimpse of its face and noticed that he looked familiar. My breath caught in my throat, ‘Charles… but how?’ Suddenly the weight was gone and I was no longer fighting for my life.  
“That is why,” 10k grumbled as he pulled his blade from the Z’s head. I didn’t acknowledge him as I stared down at the lifeless form in front of me.  
“They are here,” I gasped, “we have to hurry.” I bolted up the stairs not stopping until I reached the top. Even then I only stopped to give 10k time to catch up.  
“Who? Your family?” 10k questioned when he finally caught up with me. I just nodded my head and sped walk down the hall. When I reached my room I slammed my palms against the wood causing the door to fly open. Within minutes I had everything I owned gathered up in my grasp; my food, my weapons and clothes bag, and everything else I could carry.  
“Do you need me to carry something?” 10k offered but I just shook my head.  
“I’ve got everything. Let’s go,” leading him out of the room we rushed down the stairs.  
10k didn’t question me, instead he choose to silently follow me. It was probably clear to him I was in a rush and that I didn’t want to talk.  
It took us about half the time to descend the stairs, then it had taken us to get up them. I avoided looking at Charles’ body sprawled on the floor as I rushed to the door. 10k reached the door before me; he stood propping it open for me.  
I passed him and offered him a thanks as I did so. I made a beeline for my truck, which was pulled out of the alley and parked in front of their truck. I quickly tossed my stuff into the bed of the truck, after closing it up I turned to Warren.  
“We need to go now,” she could tell by the tone of my voice that the situation was serious.  
“Alright people, we are moving out. If you are not ready you are being left behind,” she barked as she walked around to the driver’s side of my truck. She yanked the door open and glanced over to Vasquez who was climbing into the driver’s seat of their truck. “Stay close,” she said before sliding in and shutting the door.  
I climbed up into the passenger seat as 10k slid into the back. I glanced over my shoulder watching as the other four piled into the other truck. My gaze never left the truck until we were pulled out onto the road and heading out of town. “Where are we going anyway?” I questioned as I turned to look at Warren.  
“California, to the CDC lab,” she replied.  
“I thought the lab was overrun,” I furrowed my brows as I shifted so my whole body was facing her.  
“They are back up and running, at least that is what Citizen Z said when we last got into contact with him,” she glanced at me before looking back to the road.  
Settling into my seat I stared out the window even more confused than I had originally been. The one thing I did know about the lab was that it was a large compound surrounded by fences that when powered up were electric. The last I heard of the lab it had been overrun by Z’s and there was really no way of saving it, that’s how many Z’s had overrun the compound.

During the ride I must have fallen asleep, because I was awoken when the vehicle came to a sudden halt. “Shit,” Warren cussed to my left. I blinked my eyes open, wincing at how bright the sun was. When my eyes finally adjusted I looked out the windshield to see what the troubles were. The road was blocked off, not only by a line of cars but also a horde of Z’s. The pile of cars looked to have been strategically placed there to keep someone or something out, but in this case it was to keep something in. Turning to my right I popped open my door, and moved to get out when a hand grasped my arm.  
“What do you think you are doing?” Warren questioned, when I turned I noticed her brows were raised and the look on her face told me not to make another move.  
“I’m just going to try and get a better look, if there is a horde of Z’s blocking the path that means if we can get through them the town will be well stocked,” I spoke. She didn’t seem to understand what I was getting at, it was clear by the look on her face. “Decent shelter, more supplies, newer and better vehicles. Most people would be scared off by a horde like this, but if we can get through them then we could be set.”  
“Hell no,” she shook her head, “that. That is a death wish. We find a way around, we are not going anywhere near those Z’s. A horde like that would overtake us in minutes.” I furrowed my brows and looked out the windshield at the horde of Z’s that had approached the wall of cars by now. They clawed at the cars as they tried to crawl over and through them.  
“Bu-“ She was quick to cut me off.  
“No. Look, I know that you are used to doing things a certain way after being on your own like you were but we have a way of doing things. We do them together, and we do not do something that would put the others in harms way. You have to understand that being with us you are going to have to do things far different than you used to. We work together, as a team.” As she spoke my hand dropped, from the handle that rested above the passenger door, into my lap. I chewed on my bottom lip as I processed what she was saying. Warren was right, I had grown used to doing things a certain way.  
When I was with my family if they seen a horde of Z’s they plowed through, not to worried if one of them got dragged down and turned. After a while that had become the norm for me, I was still disturbed by the fact that when someone was clearly not going to make it they didn’t fight back. Most people in their situation would try everything to escape, but they would drop their weapons and welcome it with open arms. Watching them being torn into with a wicked smile on their face imprinted in my mind and gave me nightmares. It was horrible.  
“You’re right. It’s not safe,” I muttered as I slammed my door shut looking to the Z’s that were still struggling, fighting to get to where we were.  
Gazing at the Z’s I imagined them to have the faces of my loved ones, the ones who have turned. It made my stomach churn and it caused a deep sadness to settle in my chest. I had loved ones, long gone now, in Wisconsin who needed mercy.  
“I seen a small road about two miles back, we’ll take that,” Warren spoke catching my attention.  
She had spoke loud enough that the others in the other truck could hear her. From where I sat I seen Vasquez give a short nod of his head before his threw hi truck into reverse. I watched as the truck backed up and then tore off down the road heading in the direction of the road Warren had mentioned. After there was enough space for Warren to maneuver the truck around she did the exact same thing. I gripped the door, pressing myself into the seat to keep from jerking around.  
I glanced up into the rearview mirror and caught 10k’s gaze, he held it for a moment before he turned his head to look out the window to his right, his eyes constantly moving, searching for something. Running my tongue along my bottom lip I looked away from the boy and ahead at the path we were taking. A couple minutes later we found the road and turned off pulling up next to where Vasquez had stopped to let us catch up.  
“If we follow this road we’ll end up in Arkansas and we can continue to just go east,” he was speaking to Warren. I looked to Warren and she seemed to be thinking about what he said.  
She glanced over to me before looking over at Vasquez, “Let’s just hope that it is a somewhat straight shot.” Even though it came out as a mumble everyone seemed to understand what she was saying. I pursed my lips slightly and looked down at my lap. Their destination was California, and even though the road to California was not one straight line there was always chances of having to change their route. Just like earlier when we had to change our course because of the roadblock.  
Anything could throw us off course, not just a roadblock. Someone getting kidnapped, I hoped that they were the type of people that would not give up on someone and just keep moving. They seemed like the kind of people who would fight until their last breath for you, but they were on an important mission. A mission that came before anything else.  
I really hoped that if something happened to me I could rely on them to save me, or if it came to it. Mercy me.


End file.
